432 T. T. QUIRKE 



to some of that listed above were purchased on the spot by Mr. 

 T. A. Treganza.^ It is probable that about 200 lbs. of material 

 have been recovered from the fall, of which the Loran boloid, 

 weighing 18 lbs. 5^ oz., appears to be considerably the largest. 



As noted in the description of Modoc,^ the distribution of the 

 members of a meteorite fall follows in general the order of their 

 size, with the largest pieces farthest in the direction of flight. 

 The Richardton meteorite fell toward the north, and all the units 

 weighing more than three pounds apiece came from the most 

 northerly strip, 2 miles wide, while only one small specimen, 

 weighing 12 oz., was found there. On the other hand", although 

 the number of pieces found in the southern end is greater than 

 that found in the northern part of the area, nearly all the indi- 

 vidual examples are small. 



The Richardton meteorite is of the veined, spherical chondrite 

 class (Cca) of Brezina's classification, as may be recognized from 

 the following descriptions of those specimens which have been 

 studied by the writer. The descriptions are arranged in order 

 of the size of the specimens. 



I. The Loran specimen, weighing 18 lbs. 5^ oz. (8,338 gm.), 

 may be likened in shape to an axe-head. It is a five-sided wedge, 

 the sharp edge being 20 cm. long, and the blunt end 12 cm. by 

 1 1. 2 cm. From back to edge the piece is 18 cm. long. Part of 

 the crust has been broken from the mass, especially from the 

 corners. In fact the corners of most large specimens are battered 

 because the meteorite fell at a low angle to the surface of the 

 earth, so that most of the pieces seem to have rolled or bounded 

 after striking the ground. Few pieces penetrated the soil and 

 none is known to have broken through the sod. 



The largest Loran specimen appears to have six subparallel 

 veins, the traces of three of which can be followed entirely around 

 the mass, but the other three spht up into branches and are less 

 definite. All the veins branch into two or more members, and in 



' The writer has sent three letters to Mr. Treganza, Britt, Iowa, in regard to his 

 purchases. However, as none of these letters brought a reply, no further information 

 about this interesting collection can be offered in this article. 



2 O. C. Farrington, Nat. Acad. Sci., Mem. XIII (1915), p. S°7- 



